TRINITY, N.C.—Sealy Global Hospitality, one of the world’s leading hospitality mattress manufacturers, has created a new line of Sealy Posturepedic sleep systems with convertible pillowtops. They were created specifically for hospitality environments looking to balance the demand from customers for greener practices without compromising cost or comfort. While conventional pillowtops cannot be detatched from mattresses, the innovative reversible pillowtop on the Sealy Posturepedic Convertible Collection mattress has been engineered to be easily removed, rotated or replaced by a single person using VELCRO brand fasteners, which adhere the pillowtop to the mattress’ core. Rotating and inverting the pillowtop allows for four...

BOSTON—Ember, a leading provider of low-power wireless mesh networking systems, will end 2008 with a flourish, setting company records for product shipments and revenue. Building on the foundation from the previous year, Ember has shipped a record quantity of its ZigBee/802.15.4 semiconductors in 2008, more than all the previous years combined. This achievement reflects its position as a leading vendor of ZigBee technology. It also validates the market acceptance of ZigBee as the wireless standard of choice for sensor and control networks, particularly for applications impacting energy management such as smart metering, as well as in home control and...

NEWPORT NEWS, VA.—Ferguson, the country’s largest wholesale distributor of plumbing supplies, launches “National Green Month,” which will run the entire month of January, nationwide. The program highlights Ferguson’s extensive offering of green products, as well as Ferguson’s showroom consultants’ in-depth product knowledge. “Our objective is to be the premier provider of green solutions,” said Gail Kaufman, Wolseley North America’s director of green business and customer programs. “Through our expansive product offerings, to our industry expertise, our associates are committed to helping customers make small steps to help the environment.” Ferguson sells a broad range of green products across several categories that...

MIAMI—Cambean Hospitality, a Miami Beach-based hospitality group that owns and manages four boutique hotel properties in the South Beach area, has announced the selection of Plan A Public Relations & Marketing, Inc. to manage their marketing and communications activities. Plan A will be responsible for increasing exposure and building brand recognition for Cambean Hospitality and their properties, as well as the re-launch of the historic Clifton South Beach as a green hotel in early 2009. “Cambean Hospitality has built a solid reputation for excellence in owning and managing four exclusive properties in the Miami Beach area,” stated Brian Scheinblum, president...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—Valley Forge Fabrics has appointed Kimberly Roeser vice president of the company’s worldwide sales force. Kimberly’s successful career in hospitality spans 20 years and includes a consistent focus on design and quality. After graduating from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree, Kimberly became a published residential designer for Worells Interiors of Palm Beach, Fla. Kimberly merged her love for high design with her innate ability to communicate well when she changed her career path and went to work for Bamboo Abbott. Her role included selling decorative window blinds as well as private label items. It...

FORT WORTH, TEXAS—Traulsen’s line of refrigerators and freezers—the G-Series—is expanding its product line to include hot-food holding cabinets. The affordable price and proven reliability mean higher value and lower total cost of ownership. The new Energy Star qualified G-Series hot-food holding cabinets, which include one- and two-section reach-in and pass-thru configurations, save energy and allow for a smaller environmental footprint. “Particularly in tougher economic times, Traulsen’s G-Series provides excellent value for foodservice operators and growing chains striving to drive down costs while maintaining quality, and the hot-food holding cabinet is no exception in delivering on this expectation,” said John Davis,...

MINNEAPOLIS—New McQuay scroll-compressor Templifier water heaters reduce energy costs by recovering waste heat and making it available for space heating and domestic hot water. Ideal for hotels, McQuay Templifier units with scroll compressors range from 500 to 3,000 MBh and can heat water up to 160° F (71° C) compared to 140° F for competitive units. The Templifier’s hermetic scroll compressors feature low sound levels for quiet operation and use R-134a refrigerant, which has no ozone-depletion potential or phase-out schedule. The McQuay Open Choices control feature allows easy integration with the building automation system of choice using BACnet, LonTalk...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Water Energy Laundry Consulting as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. Water Energy Laundry Consulting offers the following turn-key laundry solutions for the hospitality industry: full-service consulting, advanced laundry design, construction, start-up, optimization and training. Laundry Consulting is the exclusive provider of Green Laundry Systems from Water Energy. These systems are built around advanced ozone technologies and deliver significant water and energy savings to a laundry. The newly updated Water Energy Laundry Consulting website includes calculators that enable one to calculate the carbon footprint of a laundry...

NEW ORLEANS—Leading global distribution system (GDS) provider Travelport GDS has announced a global marketing alliance with The Hotel Carbon Index Company Limited, creator of CarePar. CarePar is an industry standard system for measuring carbon emissions within the hotel and lodging industry. The announcement was made at the recent Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA) Conference. As part of the agreement, Travelport will include CarePar hotel carbon emission data in Travelport GDS products, including Travelport Carbon Tracker. The integration of CarePar hotel data into Carbon Tracker in the future will give corporations and their travelers an even more complete view of...

LOUISVILLE, KY.—LSI Wallcovering announced it will pick up freight costs to bring used vinyl wallcovering back to its Second-Look Recycling Center in New Castle, Ind. The Louisville, Ky.-based wallcovering manufacturer made the move to ensure that rising fuel costs don’t discourage specifiers from recycling wallcovering. Second-Look accepts all makes of vinyl wallcovering and covers freight from any location in the continental United States and Canada. Second-Look is the first program to recycle post-consumer vinyl wallcovering and has diverted hundreds of thousands of pounds from the landfill since it began operations in 2005. Effective immediately, the free freight program is available...